Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common fatal genetic disease in humans (Boat, T. F. et al. in The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Diseases (Scriver, C. R. et al. eds., McGraw-Hill, New York (1989))). Approximately one in every 2,500 infants in the United States is born with the disease. At the present time, there are approximately 30,000 CF patients in the United States. Despite current standard therapy, the median age of survival is only 26 years. Disease of the pulmonary airways is the major cause of morbidity and is responsible for 95% of the mortality. The first manifestation of lung disease is often a cough, followed by progressive dyspnea. Tenacious sputum becomes purulent due to colonization of bacteria. Chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis can be partially treated with the current therapy, but the course is punctuated by increasingly frequent exacerbations of the pulmonary disease. As the disease progresses, the patient's activity is progressively limited. End-stage lung disease is heralded by increasing hypoxemia, pulmonary hypertension, and cor pulmonale.
The upper airways of the nose and sinuses are also involved by CF. Most patients develop chronic sinusitis. Nasal polyps occur in 15-20% of patients and are common by the second decade of life. Gastrointestinal problems are also frequent in CF; infants may suffer meconium ileus. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, which produces symptoms of malabsorption, is present in the large majority of patients with CF. Males are almost uniformly infertile and fertility is decreased in females.
Based on both genetic and molecular analyses, a gene associated with CF was isolated as part of 21 individual cDNA clones and its protein product predicted (Kerem, B. S. et al. (1989) Science 245:1073-1080; Riordan, J. R. et al. (1989) Science 245:1066-1073; Rommens, J. M. et al. (1989) Science 245:1059-1065)). European patent application publication number: 0 446 017 A1 describes the construction of the gene into a continuous strand, expression of the gene as a functional protein and confirmation that mutations of the gene are responsible for CF. (See also Gregory, R. J. et al. (1990) Nature 347:382-386; Rich, D. P. et al. (1990) Nature 347:358-362).
The protein product of the CF associated gene is called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) (Riordan, J. R. et al. (1989) Science 245:1066-1073). CFTR is a protein of approximately 1480 amino acids made up of two repeated elements, each comprising six transmembrane segments and a nucleotide binding domain. The two repeats are separated by a large, polar, so-called R-domain containing multiple potential phosphorylation sites. Based on its predicted domain structure, CFTR is a member of a class of related proteins which includes the multi-drug resistance (MDR) or P-glycoprotein, bovine adenyl cyclase, the yeast STE6 protein as well as several bacterial amino acid transport proteins (Riordan, J. R. et al. (1989) Science 245:1066-1073; Hyde, S. C. et al. (1990) Nature 346:362-365). Proteins in this group, characteristically, are involved in pumping molecules into or out of cells.
CFTR has been postulated to regulate the outward flow of anions from epithelial cells in response to phosphorylation by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase or protein kinase C (Riordan, J. R. et al. (1989) Science 245:1066-1073; Frizzell, R. A. et al. (1986) Science 233:558-560; Welsh, M. J. and Liedtke, C. M. (1986) Nature 322:467; Li, M. et al. (1988) Nature 331:358-360; Hwang, T-C. et al. (1989) Science 244:1351-1353).
Sequence analysis of the CFTR gene of CF chromosomes has revealed a variety of disease causing mutations (Cutting, G. R. et al. (1990) Nature 346:366-369; Dean, M. et al. (1990) Cell 61:863:870; and Kerem, B-S. et al. (1989) Science 245:1073-1080; Kerem, B-S et al. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87:8447-8451). Population studies have indicated that the most common CF mutation, a deletion of the 3 nucleotides that encode phenylalanine at position 508 of the CFTR amino acid sequence (.DELTA.F508), is associated with approximately 70% of the cases of cystic fibrosis. This mutation results in the failure of an epithelial cell chloride channel to respond to cAMP (Frizzell R. A. et al. (1986) Science 233:558-560; Welsh, M. J. (1986) Science 232:1648-1650.; Li, M. et al. (1988) Nature 331:358-360; Quinton, P. M. (1989) Clin. Chem. 35:726-730). In airway cells, this leads to an imbalance in ion and fluid transport. It is widely believed that this causes abnormal mucus secretion, and ultimately results in pulmonary infection and epithelial cell damage.
Studies on the biosynthesis (Cheng, S. H. et al. (1990) Cell 63: 827-834; Gregory, R. J. et al. (1991) Mol. Cell Biol. 11:3886-3893) and localization (Denning, G. M. et al. (1992) J. Cell Biol. 118:551-559) of CFTR .DELTA.F508, as well as other CFTR mutants, indicate that many CFTR mutant proteins are not processed correctly and, as a result, are not delivered to the plasma membrane (Gregory, R. J. et al. (1991) Mol. Cell Biol. 11:3886-3893). These conclusions are consistent with earlier functional studies which failed to detect cAMP-stimulated chloride channels in cells expressing CFTR .DELTA.F508 (Rich, D. P. et al. (1990) Nature 347:358-363; Anderson, M. P. et al. (1991) Science 251:679-682).
To date, the primary objectives of treatment for CF have been to control infection, promote mucus clearance, and improve nutrition (Boat, T. F. et al. in The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Diseases (Scriver, C. R. et al. eds., McGraw-Hill, New York (1989)). Intensive antibiotic use and a program of postural drainage with chest percussion are the mainstays of therapy. However, as the disease progresses, frequent hospitalizations are required. Nutritional regimens include pancreatic enzymes and fat-soluble vitamins. Bronchodilators are used at times. Corticosteroids have been used to reduce inflammation, but they may produce significant adverse effects and their benefits are not certain. In extreme cases, lung transplantation is sometimes attempted (Marshall, S. et al. (1990) Chest 98:1488).
Most efforts to develop new therapies for CF have focused on the pulmonary complications. Because CF mucus consists of a high concentration of DNA, derived from lysed neutrophils, one approach has been to develop recombinant human DNase (Shak, S. et al. (1990) Proc. Natl. Sci. Acad USA 87:9188). Preliminary reports suggest that aerosolized enzyme may be effective in reducing the viscosity of mucus. This could be helpful in clearing the airways of obstruction and perhaps in reducing infections. In an attempt to limit damage caused by an excess of neutrophil derived elastase, protease inhibitors have been tested. For example, alpha-1-antitrypsin purified from human plasma has been aerosolized to deliver enzyme activity to lungs of CF patients (McElvaney, N. et al. (1991) The Lancet 337:392). Another approach would be the use of agents to inhibit the action of oxidants derived from neutrophils. Although biochemical parameters have been successfully measured, the long term beneficial effects of these treatments have not been established.
Based on knowledge of the cystic fibrosis gene, three general corrective approaches (as opposed to therapies aimed at ameliorating the symptoms) are currently being pursued to reverse the abnormally decreased chloride secretion and increased sodium absorption in CF airways. Defective electrolyte transport by airway epithelia is thought to alter the composition of the respiratory secretions and mucus (Boat, T. F. et al. in The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Diseases (Scriver, C. R. et al. eds.), McGraw-Hill, New York (1989); Quinton, P. M. (1990) FASEB J. 4:2709-2717). Hence, pharmacological treatments aimed at correcting the abnormalities in electrolyte transport are being pursued. Trials are in progress with aerosolized versions of the drug amiloride; a diuretic that inhibits sodium channels, thereby inhibiting sodium absorption. Initial results indicate that the drug is safe and suggest a slight change in the rate of disease progression, as measured by lung function tests (Knowles, M. et al. (1990) N. Eng. J. Med 322:1189-1194; App, E. (1990) Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 141-605. Nucleotides, such as ATP or UTP, stimulate purinergic receptors in the airway epithelium. As a result, they open a class of chloride channel that is different from CFTR chloride channels. In vitro studies indicate that ATP and UTP can stimulate chloride secretion (Knowles, M. et al. (1991) N. Eng. J. Med. 325-533). Preliminary trials to test the ability of nucleotides to stimulate secretion in vivo, and thereby correct the electrolyte transport abnormalities are underway.
As with all pharmacological agents, issues such as drug toxicity and dosing will be important in developing an appropriate pharmacological agent for treating CF. A more fundamental consideration with pharmacological approaches to CF therapy is whether the chloride channel activity associated with CFTR is the crucial property that leads to the disease state. Perhaps there is another as yet, unidentified component of the CFTR system and this is the key regulator. If this were the case, it is possible that a pharmacological approach based on chloride transport might successfully adjust ion balance, but still not relieve the fundamental physiological problem.
A second approach to curing cystic fibrosis, "protein replacement" seeks to deliver functional, recombinant CFTR to CF mutant cells to directly augment the missing CFTR activity. The concept of protein replacement therapy for CF is simple: a preparation of highly purified recombinant CFTR formulated in some fusogenic liposome or reassembled virus carrier delivered to the airways by instillation or aerosol. However, attempts at formulating a CF protein replacement therapeutic have met with difficulties. For example, CFTR is not a soluble protein of the type that has been used for previous protein replacement therapies or for other therapeutic uses. There may be a limit to the amount of a membrane protein with biochemical activity that can be expressed in a recombinant cell. There are reports in the literature of 10.sup.5 -10.sup.6 molecules/cell representing the upper limit (H-Y Wang et. al J. Biol. Chem 264:14424 (1989)), compared to 2000 molecules/second/cell being reported for secreted proteins such as EPO, insulin, growth hormone, and tPA.
In addition to limited expression capabilities, the purification of CFTR, a membrane bound protein, is more difficult than purification of a soluble protein. Membrane proteins require solubilization in detergents. However, purification of CFTR in the presence of detergents represent a less efficient process than the purification process required of soluble proteins. Other potential obstacles to a protein replacement approach include: 1) the inaccessibility of airway epithelium caused by mucus build-up and the hostile nature of the environment in CF airways; 2) potential immunogenicity; and 3) the fusion of CFTR with recipient cells may be an inefficient.
A third approach to cystic fibrosis treatment is a gene therapy approach in which DNA encoding cystic fibrosis is transferred to CF defective cells (e.g. of the respiratory tract). However, methods to introduce DNA into cells are generally inefficient. Since viruses have evolved very efficient means to introduce their nucleic acid into cells, many approaches to gene therapy make use of engineered defective viruses. However, viral vectors have limited space for accommodating foreign genes. For example, adeno-associated virus (AAV) although an attractive gene therapy vector in many respects, has only 4.5 Kb available for exogenous DNA. DNA encoding the full length CFTR gene represents the upper limit. Gene therapy approaches to CF will face many of the same clinical challenges as protein therapy.
Although there has been notable progress in developing curative therapies for CF based on knowledge of the gene encoding CFTR, the expressed protein product and mechanism of action, there are obstacles confronting every approach. New therapies for CF are needed.